The Gospel, Mercy, & The Church That Deflates Itself
KNOXVILLE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK (KIN)
THRIVE ("designate for coats" in comments)
James 2.8-13: If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
The gospel calls the church to a radical way of life—one where it deflates itself to lift up the disenfranchised. In a world that thrives on ranking people by appearance, wealth, and influence, the church is meant to be different. It’s not just another player in society’s back-and-forth debates on power and privilege. It eliminates the entire discussion by embodying something countercultural: mercy over judgment.
Mercy Over Judgment
When society prioritizes judgment based on appearances, it breeds resentment and division. Reverse favoritism emerges as an attempt to correct past injustices, yet it only reinforces the same flawed system in a different direction. The gospel presents a better way.
Gospel mercy triumphs over judgment. Not because mercy is a better or more Godlike trait than judgment, but because, in Christ, judgment found its true end. Jesus bore the full weight of divine judgment on our behalf and in doing so, He freely dispensed mercy to all without distinction.
This is why favoritism in the church is so tragic. If Christ’s death was for all—if He was judged in our place—then how can we, the church, continue to categorize people based on our own flawed standards? If the gospel is the great equalizer, the church as the bride of Christ must be the vehicle through which this truth is lived out.
The Royal Law: A New Way to Love
James calls believers to live by the royal law—“Love your neighbor as yourself.” This isn’t just a slogan or a theoretical principle; it’s a command that radically reorients how we interact with others. It reshapes our communities.
We must welcome the outsider, the one who doesn’t seem to “fit in.” That’s the heart of gospel hospitality. If you’ve ever hesitated to invite someone into your faith community because you’re unsure if they’ll “fit,” remember: none of us do. And yet, because of Christ, we all belong.
Favoritism—whether social, economic, or generational—excludes people from experiencing the fullness of Christ’s love. It sends the wrong message: that the church operates by the same metrics as the world. But in reality, the church is meant to be a place where all backgrounds, struggles, and stories are met with the same gospel mercy that saved us.
Sacrificial Love: The True Test of Faith
James reminds us that faith without works is dead. One of the clearest ways we demonstrate living faith is through sacrificial love.
We naturally exert ourselves most for those who are like us and those we like the most. Jesus calls us beyond that. The royal law requires that we decrease so that others may increase. That’s sacrificial. That’s costly. But it’s also gospel-shaped.
We often grumble about how our taxes are used to support the disenfranchised, yet we fail to personally invest in lifting up those in need. That’s hypocrisy. Everything we have—our time, our money, our resources—is given to us by God for the sake of stewardship. If we’re unwilling to use what we have to serve those who can’t repay us, we haven’t grasped the mercy we’ve received.
When the Church Lives Differently
When the city sees us playing church—focused on appearances, influence, and comfort—it sees hypocrisy. But when it sees us extending mercy, showing hospitality, and lifting up the vulnerable, it sees the glory of God.
What does a step forward look like for the unborn, the cold, the addicted, the refugee? These aren’t political questions—they’re gospel questions. The church, empowered by the mercy of Christ, is called to be an answer.
We live in a world where favoritism is the norm. But the church is called to be a community where mercy triumphs over judgment. Let’s live out the royal law with open hands and hearts, deflating ourselves so that others may rise. Not for our glory, but so that in our humility, the world might see the true King—the One who lowered Himself to lift us all.
